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Invisiblememes
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Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest?
    #7758852 - 12/14/07 03:26 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

I have always thought of marriage as a social institution that has been passed down, well - forever. But recently i was reading a book called "Authentic Happiness" by Martin Seligman for my "happiness and economics" class. And he proposed the idea that in fact, marriage is an evolutionary process. I'm going to straight-up quote two quick paragraphs from his book, they're not long and pose an interesting viewpoint not often thought about, so enjoy 'em.

"Many social scientists, swept up in the insouciance of environmentalism, would have us believe that marriage is an institution concocted by society and by convention, a socially engineered construction like Hoosiers or the class of 1991 at Lower Merion High School. Maids of honor, the religious and civil trappings, and the honeymoon may be social constructions, but the underlying framework is much deeper. Evolution has a very strong interest in reproductive success, and thus in the instituion of marriage. Successful reproduction in our species is not a matter of quick fertilization, with both partners then going their own separate ways; rather, humans are born big-brained and immature, a state that necessitates a vast amount of learning from parents. This advantage only works with the addition of pair-bonding. Immature, dependent offspring who have parents that stick around to procect an mentor them do much better than their cousins whose parents abandon them. Those of our ancestors, therefore, who were inclined to make a ddeep commitment to each other were more likely to have viable children and thereby pass on their genes. Thus marriage was "invented" by natural selection, not by culture.
This is not just a matter of armchair speculation and just-so evolutionary storytelling. Woman who have stable sexual relationships ovulate more regularly, and they continue ovulating into middle age, reaching manopause later than women in unstable relations. The children of couples who are married and stay married do better by every known criterion than the children of all other arrangements. For example, children who live with both biological parents repeat grades at only one-third to one-half the rate of children in other parenting arrangements. Children who live with both biological parents are trated for emotional disorders at one-forth to one-third the rate of other parnting arrangements. Amont the most surprising of outcomes (beyond better grades and lack of depression) are the findings that the children of stable marriages mature more slowly in sexual terms, they have more positive attitude towards potential mates, and are more interested in long-term relationships than the children of divorce"
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I realize none of this is revolutionary, or even that difficult to put together. However, i had never given the subject much thought and was thoroughly interested in his opinions. I know most of you won't care about any of it (if you bothered to read it at all), but if one person enjoys it than ive done my part.

A majority of the shit i read on forums everyday is useless - this is at least interesting.


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Offlinedruqs
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: memes]
    #7758867 - 12/14/07 03:30 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

i would only marry for tax purposes


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OfflineTangerines
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: druqs]
    #7758983 - 12/14/07 04:04 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

marriage is a union between two people for survival purposes. i.e. get married, fuck like rabbits and pop out babies. Though nowadays it may be shifting and now is just an institution and not a NEED persay.


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InvisibleAlteredAgain
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Registered: 04/27/06
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: memes]
    #7759063 - 12/14/07 04:22 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

right now i look at marriage as nothing other than an unnecessary legal contract, but i'm still young, my outlook might change.


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Offlinedruqs
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: AlteredAgain]
    #7759089 - 12/14/07 04:26 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

getting a mortgage together is more of a commitment nowadays....


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InvisibleSilversoul
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: memes]
    #7759196 - 12/14/07 04:57 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

Marriage is the ritualization and institutionalization of monogamy(or in some cultures, polygamy). Naturally, it does not appeal to those who don't like ritual, institutions, or monogamy. I happen to be a fan of all three.


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InvisibleRandalFlagg
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Registered: 06/15/02
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: memes]
    #7759199 - 12/14/07 04:57 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

Evolution has been turned on its head by modern civilization. The people who come from broken and fucked up homes usually end up fucked up themselves. These people often breed excessively whereas stable people tend not to breed that much. Fucked up people are spreading their genes more than stable people.


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InvisibleSilversoul
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: RandalFlagg]
    #7759275 - 12/14/07 05:24 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

RandalFlagg said:
Evolution has been turned on its head by modern civilization. The people who come from broken and fucked up homes usually end up fucked up themselves. These people often breed excessively whereas stable people tend not to breed that much. Fucked up people are spreading their genes more than stable people.



I wouldn't be too sure of that line of reasoning. What's actually happening there is two different survival strategies. In one, people have a small number of children and invest a lot of time, effort, and money into them to ensure that they succeed. In the other strategy, people of meager means have lots of children, with the chance that one of them might make something of themselves, even if others end up getting killed or going to prison. When you think about it, it's really nothing new in the natural world.


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InvisibleCheezit
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Registered: 10/19/07
Posts: 843
Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: RandalFlagg]
    #7759320 - 12/14/07 05:36 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)



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InvisibleQuarryman
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Registered: 07/29/07
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Re: Marriage: Social Institution or Survival of the Fittest? [Re: memes]
    #7759592 - 12/14/07 06:41 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

That passage makes no distinction between a monogamous relationship and a marriage.


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